News Call


COALITION AIRSTRIKE KILLS AL-ZARQAWI
On June 7, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed in a coalition airstrike on a safehouse eight kilometers north of Baq-ubah. Iraqi police were first on the scene after the airstrike, and elements of Multinational Division North arrived shortly thereafter. Coalition forces were able to identify al-Zarqawi by fingerprint verification, facial recognition and known scars. One of his key lieutenants, spiritual adviser Sheik Abd-al-Rahman, was also killed in the strike.

In addition, the Iraqi Parliament gave approval for the final three key posts in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s cabinet. On May 20, the country’s Parliament approved 39 ministers and state secretaries to form the government. The new cabinet contains representatives from all major parties and all major ethnic and secular groups, and includes women.

On May 30, about 1,500 U.S. soldiers moved into Iraq’s western Anbar province from Kuwait as a short-term deployment to support security operations there. Two battalion task forces of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, were moved into Iraq to provide the local and provincial government officials with added security. The request came from Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the commander of Multinational Force Iraq, in conjunction with the Iraqi government. The added number of troops puts the total number of U.S. forces in Iraq at around 130,000.

Army officials said security issues in Anbar province have been an ongoing problem but do not represent the situation in the country at large. The Iraqis have stood up two divisions, 15 brigades and 68 battalions of the Iraqi army and are in the lead in their own areas of responsibility.


ACCIDENT SPURS VIOLENCE IN AFGHANISTAN
On May 29, a deadly traffic accident involving a coalition convoy in Kabul sparked civil unrest.

A coalition truck struck 12 civilian vehicles after experiencing a mechanical failure. U.S. soldiers at the scene immediately provided medical help to the injured, and Afghan security forces also responded. When a crowd gathered at the scene and became hostile, a second convoy came to help, and both convoys moved out of the area with the damaged truck while Afghan security forces handled crowd control. Soldiers may have fired warning shots over the crowd. The incident is under investigation.

Outside the capital, Afghan and coalition soldiers continue to engage the enemy. On May 19, soldiers killed 20 enemy fighters during a battle in southern Afghanistan. About 50 fighters attempted to ambush a joint coalition patrol but were quickly repelled with heavy losses. One American soldier was killed and seven were wounded in the firefight.

On May 17, Afghan National Police (ANP) and coalition forces killed a reported 60 enemy fighters and captured 20 during a battle in a village in Helmand province. After receiving reports of a large enemy force, the joint force pursued the fighters. Sixteen police were killed and 20 were wounded in the conflict. That same day, ANP and coalition forces engaged about 30 insurgents with small arms and mortar fire in another village in Ghazni province. A policeman and an enemy combatant were killed in the firefight. During the engagement, coalition attack aircraft provided close-air support.


NG MOVES TO BORDER
The first element of 6,000 National Guard troops that President George W. Bush announced would supplement border patrol agencies arrived at the U.S./Mexico border. The 116th Construction Support Equipment Company of the Utah Army National Guard arrived June 5 and began improving roads, repairing gaps in the fortified fence and running wiring for new lighting.

By mid-June the plan was to have 800 Guard troops along the border with the full 6,000 to be in place by August 1. The majority of the troops will be stationed in Arizona, with the rest evenly divided among California, New Mexico and Texas. The Guard deployments are a temporary measure while the Border Patrol trains more agents. The Guard soldiers on the border will help with surveillance, intelligence, construction and training but they will not conduct law enforcement.

In addition, the governors of California, New Mexico and Arizona have pledged to send their own Guard units to the border. California will send 1,000 troops, New Mexico 500 and Arizona 300. The mission is dubbed Operation Jump Start.


NEW ARMY RESERVE CHIEF
Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz is the new chief of the Army Reserve and commanding general of U.S. Army Reserve Command. The U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination by President George W. Bush on May 19. Stultz previously served as the deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command for Operations, Readiness, Training and Mobilization.

He takes over from Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly, who assumed command of the Army Reserve in May 2002. Helmly’s next assignment will be as the chief of Central Command’s Office of Defense Representative in Pakistan.

Before Stultz was placed on active duty and assigned to the U.S. Army Reserve Command Headquarters at Fort McPherson, Ga., he served as the commander of the 143rd Transportation Command, headquartered in Orlando, Fla. His service in theArmy dates back to an initial active duty tour from 1974 to 1979. Stultz joined the Army Reserve when he decided to leave active service to pursue a civilian career. He has served in numerous assignments and positions in U.S. Army Reserve units, including the 108th Division, the 32nd Transportation Group and the 257th Transportation Battalion. He is a veteran of Desert Shield/Desert Storm and was deployed to Kuwait with the 143rd Transportation Command for nearly two years between 2002 and 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.